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YFH II has successfully achieved notable expected and unexpected results throughout the project. Lessons learned have been identified that may be useful for other organizations or professionals undertaking similar initiatives in Canada or abroad.
Major YFH II Results
- The National Youth Health Promotion Centre was established with 16 staff, two regional coordinators, a directorate and a management committee. As planned, it became part of the State Institute on Family and Youth Problems within the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports (MOFYS).
- Approximately 4,700 children and young people from local communities in Cherkassy and Rivne regions have gained access to information, materials and equipment on health and healthy lifestyles. Over 3,200 youth have been directly involved in this work on issues such as HIV/AIDS prevention, smoking cessation, drug and alcohol harm reduction, mental health, healthy nutrition, and the promotion of physical activity.
- The National Youth Health Promotion Action Plan, part of the National Health Promotion Program, has been drafted and reviewed by the Ministry of Health in Ukraine.
Unexpected Results
- Youth were empowered as decision makers, leaders, policy advisors and trainers in their communities and at the national level in Kyiv. The program was highly successful in engaging youth and giving them a place in the structures of the YFH II project (i.e., youth positions on the Regional Roundtables, Intersectoral Committees and Councils and National Advisory Committee). A Youth Advocacy Committee was established halfway through the project for youth who were interested in developing an advocacy plan to contribute to the development of a national youth health promotion action plan, forums and study tour.
- An impressive unexpected result of YFH II was that, although the project planned to establish six Resource Centres in the two pilot regions — two regional, two city and two village — there are altogether about 30 Resource Centres in Cherkassy and Rivne regions that have been funded and initiated by the local communities and state administrations.
- The overwhelming success of the small grant program that allocated over $150,000 CDN to 117 grant projects is an unexpected positive result. A transparent and competitive criteria-based system for awarding grants was established in pilot sites and created healthy competition for community-based organizations, local governments, schools and institutions to develop local health promotion programs and activities.
- There has been international interest in researching and documenting the successes of the YFH II project in Ukraine. Members of the YFH II Canadian Advisory Committee, for example, have taken the initiative to work with the NYHP Centre in Kyiv to apply for international health research grant funding in order to conduct follow up evidence-based research and evaluation of the impacts of YFH II.
Vitamin Teas: School #2, Matusiv Village, Cherkassy Region
The vitamin tea project is an excellent example of an innovative, creative, participatory, youth-driven grant project that promotes healthy lifestyles and uses local traditional knowledge. Youth in Matusiv gathered local herbs, fruits and berries and made delicious vitamin teas for their peers. The youth used traditional local recipes and researched the nutritional value of the various herbs, fruits and berries. The vitamin tea recipes are displayed in the school and the youth have developed a Vitamin A, B, C book. The delicious vitamin teas were served twice a week at the school, free of charge. The teas are a healthy alternative to sugary pop drinks. This project won a young environmentalist competition and the group of students involved in the project won a trip to Kyiv to share their experience and success. Now youth are preparing teas at home and sharing the recipes with adults and family.
Factors for Success
Achieving project results in YFH II was facilitated by a number of factors that have been identified by the Canadians and Ukrainians involved in the project. Some of these factors for success in YFH II were:
- An intersectoral and multi-level approach
- Committed Ukrainian partners
- Active involvement of youth
- Clear management structures in Canada and Ukraine
- Tasks that were clearly formulated by Canadian partners, but were flexible and adaptable to the Ukrainian context and decision making
- Strong communication and a good working relationship between CSIH Ottawa and Kyiv-based staff
- Participatory approaches on the Ukrainian and Canadian Advisory Committees
- Theoretical knowledge that was combined with practical hands-on knowledge
- Grant funding that gave the community the opportunity to implement creative and locally appropriate ideas
- A consistent CIDA Project Officer
- Building on lessons learned from YFH I
- A second phase (additional time) that allowed for successes and the work of the first phase to be built on
Lessons Learned
There are a number of lessons learned that have emerged from overcoming challenges in Ukraine. Some of the challenges faced by the YFH II project included changing national governments and political uncertainty in Ukraine, the ambiguity of the national policymaking process, and a lack of support from some adults who were not accustomed to collaborating with young people. Some of the related lessons learned include:
- Broad political support at all levels is essential
- The preparation and training of people in authority aids the decision making and "buy-in" processes
- Equal participation of all partners, including youth, provides ownership and is essential for success
- Providing specific places for youth within each of the YFH II structures was essential in order for youth to have a voice in deliberations and decision making
- Funding from multiple revenue sources (i.e., local governments) is required in order to be sufficient
- The small grants program was a successful mechanism for encouraging local demand-driven youth health promotion activities
- Longer term commitment in funding from CIDA benefited from consistent and growing support from the national and other levels of government in Ukraine and allowed for a critical mass of organizational and government involvement and capacity to carry forth youth health promotion activities
Testimonials
| "What makes youth health promotion really happen in this village is that we all come together to the Committee meetings. Everyone is interested in working with our children. I could not do it without the Committee that brings the community together." |
| Village Mayor, Fall 2004 |
| "I care about the future of Ukraine and I know that it’s in our hands. I hate to see my peers ruin their health and their lives. I will do my best to help them understand what the real value of their life is and how they can take charge of their futures." |
| Male project participant, 15 years old |
| "Thanks to the ideas of the YFH II project, village citizens have learned to seek local resources for different types of work, as they realized that most of the ideas proposed by children and youth do not require significant expenses and can be carried out locally and within quite reasonable budgets. The most important thing is that children would wish to bring their ideas to life." |
| Head of Village Council |
| "... The week we spent in Canada gave each one of us an unforgettable experience, useful health promotion knowledge and skills, and – most importantly – we became confident that our future, future of our families, our communities and of our country first of all depends on our good initiatives, creative ideas, hard work, our participation in the life of our communities and our country, and finally, on our sincere patriotism." |
| Cherkassy Youth Study Tour Participant, July 2004 |
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